The first posthumous exploration of noise, beats and sound from this legend
since "Sufiq" in 1999. Wonderful variety of what he did best. Fast
and furious dancefloor tracks next to ebbing guitars next to noisy repetition
and distortion. Spreads on thick.

Despite the fact that this list seems to have lost interest in new Muslimgauze
stuff I thought I would report on the new Muslimgauze CD from Soleilmoon.

Bit of an odd one this one. It comes in a simple white digipak with yellow
text - on the front cover is a part of a poem laid out in columns. The font
is very Western - non of your usual Muslimgauze/Eastern stylings here. To be
honest the overall effect is a little cheap. The cheap feel is continued when
you realize that although the back lists 19 tracks these are some distributed
across 5 CD tracks - including one track that bridges the end of CD track 1
and the start of CD track 2.

Fortunately the music more than makes up for the shoddy production. The
music is a mix of the fucked up beat driven and fairly upbeat smooth (but still
beat driven ambient). The sources are more Western but there are some Oriental
feeling parts as well. At one point in one of the more distorted tracks I could
swear there is a Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd) guitar part being shredded.

This CD has a fresh feel to it - as though Bryn was stretching his wings and
considering the horizon. His production skills are completely under control
here and you feel he could go anywhere he likes - all of which make his untimely
death even more tragic. I suspect that despite the torrent of work we didn't
get to hear what Bryn was really capable of given many more years to grow and
develop.

Only time will tell but I suspect that this will be a firm favourite amongst
Muslimgauze releases for me.

Two new releases from the near infinite arsenal that is the Muslimgauze archives,
one from Soleilmoon and one from Staalplaat.

Hummus comes crashing out of the gate with the track "Zebb ul ala el din,"
a pummeling number that is relentless in its attack. As with a lot of the later
Muslimgauze releases, it's all about the beats and the shock value, and this
release is no exception. Very plain packaging contrasts with the jumbled distortion
of many of the tracks here. Unfortunately, Hummus is a disappointment: it takes
too many turns, and is unable to lay a solid foundation as an album proper.
I can see this as a collection of experiments gone awry, as there is just no
flow to the proceedings. Early in the disc, a 12-minute number steals the show:
it's a fluid, languid piece called "Daughter of the king of china",
and is quite unlike anything Muslimgauze has recorded before. The sound is distinctly
Oriental, which he rarely concentrated on, and it's a welcome excursion here.
What follows are many short pieces that are unable to further develop that same
atmosphere that so dominated the early portion of the disc. We are left with
an empty feeling upon its completion.

Contrast that with Hamas Cinema Gaza Strip, which is a superior disc by all
counts. Not only is there a consistent flow to the tracks, the production itself
seems to be of a higher quality. Here, Muslimgauze has produced a more "cinematic"
version of his music. Long passages of filmic dialogue traverse over the sparse
beats contained within, and the results are mesmerizing. This is perhaps the
strongest disc since 1997's excellent Narcotic. Perhaps it has to do with the
presence of John Delf, who engineers three of the tracks here. He had worked
with Muslimgauze on a lot of his more acoustic recordings. The title track a
mystical blend of reverberating strings and a steady break beat, with peacocks
calling softly in the distance and live drumming played over top of it all.
The results are irresistibly magical. Tracks that follow settle into the more
ambient terrain that was explored on Gun Aramaic, but soon after comes a most
energetic number called "Jerusalem Artichoke." Perhaps the only misstep
on the disc is the track "Rent a Hookah," which has a more abrasive
construction. The closing number, "Balti Utensil" is a staccato excursion
that will prick up your ears before settling towards its dubbed-out final moments.

I know there are still more Muslimgauze discs slated for release this year,
which is phenomenal since it has now been over three years since Bryn Jones
passed away. With the situation as it currently is in the Middle East, it seems
quite portentous that a flood of Muslimgauze music is set to hit us. If we can
have more discs like Hamas Cinema Gaza Strip, the releases will be a fitting
soundtrack to a situation Jones was so resolute in bringing his (and our) attention
to.

Another excellent Muslimgauze release that seamed to get overlooked and forgotten
about due to the artwork.

To me.... it is honestly one of Muslimgauze's best works. Instead of having
a constant 'theme' (musically) or 'vibe' continued throughout the whole disc
(Betrayal, Maroon), Hummus is all over the place. Every new track completely
disconnected from the last
track. very, very clean and professional production, doesn't have that bedroom
studio feel to it at all. No idea when he recorded Hummus but it fits in pretty
close with Zuriff Moussa, Jaal Ab Dullah (both 1997) and Sufiq as far as how
he carries out the album, NOT that it sounds similar to them. Zuriff Moussa/Jaal
Ab Dullah have a lot of hip hop influences in them, Hummus has more house/club/techno
traits popping up throughout it.
As with Uzbekistani Bizzare and Souk, Hummus has a couple tracks that are so
'clean' that they could get played at a dance club and not raise any eyebrows,
but it also has tracks that begin with small quiet ever repeating loops that
swell into giant distorted monsters. Hummus explores many, many of Muslimgauze's
diverse musical persona's. to me.....

Hummus is overall a very 'strong' Muslimgauze release and a definite 'keeper'.